Written Answers Tuesday 6 March 2007

Scottish Executive

Carers

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether, in light of the findings published in the Care 21 report, The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland , it will ensure that all local authorities (a) inform all eligible carers of their right to a carers’ assessment, (b) ensure that all carers receive an individual assessment within a reasonable timescale and (c) improve the quality of carers’ assessments to ensure that all carers receive the support and resources they need and that the assessment makes an appreciable difference to their lives.

Lewis Macdonald: Both the Executive and local partnerships have taken a number of steps to improve the take-up of carer assessments.

  The Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002 gives carers the right to an assessment of their ability to care. The legislation requires local authorities to inform them of this right.

  We have required local partnerships to report on local improvement targets to increase numbers of carer assessments.

  NHS Carer Information Strategies, which will take effect from April, will help to improve carer identification and support. Crucially, they will include systems to inform carers of their right to assessment.

  It is for individual local authorities to allocate resources, in light of local needs and priorities, to ensure adequate service delivery.

Carers

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what information it has on the number of public bodies that have implemented employment policies for carers.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally.

Carers

Carolyn Leckie (Central Scotland) (SSP): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it has made to the UK Government to ensure that every public and private employer implements employment policies for carers.

Lewis Macdonald: Following the publication of the Care 21 report: The Future of Unpaid Care in Scotland in April 2006, I wrote to UK ministers to draw to their attention the report’s recommendations on the reserved issue of employment rights.

Ferry Services

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what total costs have been incurred by (a) it, (b) other public bodies and (c) Caledonian MacBrayne and its successor companies in relation to the tender for the Clyde and Hebrides ferry services since 1999, including (i) civil servants’ time and related costs, including the time of senior civil servants, (ii) the costs of dividing Caledonian MacBrayne into three companies, offshoring jobs and transferring ownership, including establishing new offices at Port Glasgow and in Jersey, (iii) the costs of all external legal advice sought by the Executive, (iv) the costs to any Executive agency or organisation funded by the Executive in relation to the tender and (v) any other associated costs.

Tavish Scott: It is not possible to provide an exact estimate of the cost of the tendering process. However the first of the following tables sets out approximate costs incurred by the Scottish Executive. The following table sets out the identifiable costs incurred by the public bodies involved. We are not aware of any other public bodies incurring specific costs on the process.

  The costs incurred to date for tendering the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services are as follows:-

  The Scottish Executive (November 1999 to 31 January 2007)

  

 Staff Costs*
£1,170,108


 Travel and Subsistence
£15,526


 External Legal, Financial and Technical Advice
£937,800


 Advertising Costs (including Official Journal of European Union and recruitment of non executive directors for Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd)
£19, 585


 Consultations/Publications
£47,455


 Sub total
£2,190,474



  Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd (April 2000 to 30 September 2006)

  

 Staff Costs
£366,000


 Restructuring Costs
£1,105,000


 Consideration of State Aids Issues
£206,000


 Offshore Crewing**
£167,000


 Sub total
£1,844,000



  CalMac Ferries Ltd (1 October 2006 to 31 January 2007)

  

 Restructuring Costs
£138,000


 Sub total
£138,000



  Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (1 October 2006 to 31 January 2007)

  

 Taxation***
£11,000,000


 Staff Costs
£71,133


 Legal fees etc
£72,772


 Consultancy fees
£34,793


 Administration Costs
£15,597


 Sub total
£11,194,295


 Total
£15,366,769



  Notes:

  *This cost does not include the cost of senior officials in Transport Group, specialist officials or ministers as their time cannot be separately accounted for. Neither does it include any allowance for the overheads that the Executive accrues generally.

  **The creation of the offshore crewing company was not as a direct result of the EU tendering process, the benefit to the company is circa £1 million per annum.

  ***The tax costs were a consequence of the restructuring and derive from a notional disposal of assets from Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd and a change of trade on the part of the latter from owning and operating to simply owning the vessels. This deemed disposal resulted in a claw back of capital allowances (tax relief) previously claimed by Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd reflecting the company’s past investment in new vessels. The tax liability of £11 million was paid in two equal payments to HM Revenue and Customs in October 2006 and January 2007.

General Practitioners

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many GPs there were per 1,000 population in each year since 1997, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Andy Kerr: The following tables show the number of GPs per 1,000 population by NHS board.

  

 Old Health Board Configuration
 1997
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
 2005


 Argyll and Clyde
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8


 Ayrshire and Arran
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8


 Borders
 0.8
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9
 1.0
 0.9
 1.0
 1.0
 1.0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9
 1.0
 1.0
 1.0
 1.0
 0.9
 1.0


 Fife
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.7
 0.7


 Forth Valley
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8


 Grampian
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9


 Greater Glasgow
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8


 Highland
 1.1
 1.1
 1.1
 1.2
 1.2
 1.2
 1.3
 1.3
 1.2


 Lanarkshire
 0.6
 0.6
 0.6
 0.6
 0.6
 0.6
 0.7
 0.6
 0.6


 Lothian
 0.7
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.9
 0.9
 0.9


 Orkney
 1.4
 1.6
 1.5
 1.6
 1.8
 1.8
 1.8
 2.0
 2.1


 Shetland
 1.1
 0.9
 1.0
 1.0
 1.1
 1.1
 1.3
 1.4
 1.4


 Tayside
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.9


 Western Isles
 1.3
 1.3
 1.3
 1.2
 1.4
 1.3
 1.5
 1.5
 1.6


 Scotland
 0.7
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8
 0.8



  

 New NHS Board Configuration
 2006


 Ayrshire and Arran
 0.8


 Borders
 1.0


 Dumfries and Galloway
 1.0


 Fife
 0.7


 Forth Valley
 0.8


 Grampian
 1.0


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 0.8


 Highland
 1.2


 Lanarkshire
 0.7


 Lothian
 0.9


 Orkney
 2.1


 Shetland
 1.3


 Tayside
 0.9


 Western Isles
 1.4


 Scotland
 0.9



  Sources:

  GMS Data Warehouse as at 28 February 2007, ISD Scotland (for GP data 1997-2004).

  Practitioner Contractor Database (PCD) as at 28 February 2007, ISD Scotland (for GP data 2005-06).

  CHI/UPI database, for patient registration data.

  Notes:

  1. GP head count comprises Performer, performer salaried and performer retainee GPs. These data do not take account of whether GPs work full-time or part-time.

  2. Figures are at 1 October each year.

  3. New NHS board configuration applicable from 1 April 2006.

Less Favoured Areas

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the latest position is on negotiations on the future of support for less favoured areas.

Ross Finnie: Support for less favoured areas is an integral part of the Scottish Rural Development Plan for 2007-2013 , which is due to be formally submitted to the European Commission later this year.

Maternity Services

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) consultant-led and (b) midwife-led maternity units there were in (i) 1997, (ii) 2001 and (iii) the latest year for which figures are available and what forecast it has made of the numbers and types of maternity units that will be required in (A) 2008 and (B) 2010.

Lewis Macdonald: There are currently 18 consultant-led maternity units and 22 community units across Scotland.

  Information about past and future provision and planning in this regard are matters for NHS boards in the first instance.

NHS Waiting Times

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients waited for more than (a) six months, (b) 12 months and (c) 24 months for a hearing aid to be issued after an initial hearing test and diagnosis in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison (Dundee East) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people had to wait for hearing tests after referral in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Lewis Macdonald: This information is not held centrally. However, ISD Scotland have been working with NHS boards to create a data set on the total number of people waiting to be fitted with a hearing aid. This information will be available in June 2007.

Planning

Mr Frank McAveety (Glasgow Shettleston) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will respond to the views expressed in submissions to the consultative process on Scottish Planning Policy 11.

Des McNulty: The Executive’s response to the views expressed will be contained in the consultation report which will accompany the publication of the finalised Scottish Planning Policy 11. We envisage that both documents will be published later in the spring.

Waste Management

Richard Lochhead (Moray) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it expects the Commercial and Industrial Waste Framework to be finalised; what the reasons are for any delay in finalising the framework, and what policy intention is behind the framework.

Ross Finnie: Our consultation on the Sustainable Management of Waste from Business and Public Sector Organisations can be found at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2005/08/05101728/17300 .

  Since the consultation, the Executive and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have been summarising and analysing responses. A summary of responses is available at: www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Environment/Waste/17103/managementofwaste.

  Following the consultation, the Scottish Executive and SEPA have been drafting a Business Waste Framework, which we intend to publish in March 2007. The framework outlines the Scottish Executive’s and SEPA’s aim of encouraging the reduction, reuse and recycling of business waste. The framework will address waste data, support to encourage business waste minimisation, collections of recyclate from small businesses, planning and infrastructure, regulation, and development of markets for recycled material.